At Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, soldiers preparing for their deployment to Afghanistan block a road leading to an Arab-styled village occupied by suspected insurgents. The scenario is fictitious, but soldiers are allowed to experience difficult circumstances in a training environment before they deploy to the actual war zone.
/ Benjamin Faske
Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12:39 p.m.
Read more: Military, Local, Rickey Lowes, Army, Flint, Soldier, Train, Insurgent
By Michael Tolzmann
HOHENFELS, Germany - As American soldiers enter a village here, they are approached by bearded men with turbans and women with burqas covering their faces. The soldiers do not know who is friend or who is foe.
The son of a Flint couple is serving here where fictitious Arab villages have been built with actors roaming about, giving it the look and feel of being in a war zone. The actors are supporting a mission to train American, NATO and allied soldiers on how to deal with unknown situations that are sure to face those who go to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Army Pfc. Ricky A. Lowes, son of Fred and Teresa Lowes of Simcoe Ave., Flint, is a member of the Army's Joint Multinational Readiness Center. He functions as an enemy insurgent, or known within the Army as an opposing force, or OPFOR.
"I work with a fake news crew here within the Vipers called Global News Network. During rotations, I'm a cameraman for my field reporter. We go out to what we call 'The Box,' which is a large training area for armies worldwide to come and train for deployments. We come up with news stories and film the shots we need and come back to base to shoot the anchor spot," said Lowes.
With the rat-tat-tat of AK-47 assault rifles echoing through the village here, the OPFOR insurgents challenge soldiers who treat this war-gaming situation as a real-life evaluation. Allied soldiers and insurgents alike have rifles equipped with laser systems that allow for the exchange of gunfire. Everyone wears a laser receptor system that will give off a loud shrill if they are shot. The goal is for soldiers heading to the war zone to learn from potential combat pitfalls here rather than making the mistakes on the battlefield.
"We prepare American and allied soldiers with media awareness briefings for how to react to media downrange with what information they can release and how to react, and the procedures for when they arrive. It's important for them to learn from their mistakes here rather than downrange," said Lowes.
Some of the actors here are hired civilians who dress and play the part of Arabs living in a village, while others, such as Lowes, are American soldiers who are trained in tactics used by insurgents. Combined with villages that could typify a real town in Iraq or Afghanistan, a look and feel of being in the war zone is achieved.
"There are towns replicated to look as if the soldiers are downrange.
The scenarios are intense and also replicate scenarios that have occurred downrange. At the same time, we're also in a beautiful part of Germany in a heavily wooded area," said Lowes.
For Lowes, serving here in support of this teaching facility is one of many experiences found within the military so far.
"I have been in the Army for 18 months, but I have yet to serve in a war zone," said Lowes.
Although a soldier serving in the U.S. Army, Lowes understands the importance of some soldiers here wearing a uniform that appears much like what is worn by an enemy in Afghanistan or Iraq. And by doing so is helping his comrades in arms learn the difference between friend and foe.
